One of the single worst ideas in the history of everything, ever

Villanova law student Jeremy Clark wants to take his gun with him to campus because he feels vulnerable. I can imagine how that feels. No one wants to be sitting in Estates class at 8:30 in the morning and field a tough question on the Rules Against Perpetuities. But Mr. Clark's worry isn't about tough legal hypotheticals (though, from his position on guns in the classroom, he ought to be); no, Mr. Clark is worried that he's going to get shot before his nascent legal career begins. His solution: allow students to carry concealed firearms.

I know from personal experience that this is the worst idea ever. Law school is probably one of the most demanding academic experiences a student could undertake, both intellectually and emotionally. First-year students go crazy all the time trying to keep up with the work (I was lucky to have broken my leg playing rugby during my first year: all I could do was sit and work, so first year for me was less stressful than for most). During my third year, a first year at my law school went a little nuts. The guy was a former serviceman, like Mr. Clark. The guy had gone from Marine to fat, smelly, bearded, mountain man, and he chained smoked Marlboro menthols while pacing around campus talking on his cell. He also got wasted at the bar a bunch. In the middle of his first year, the guy pulled some sort of gun at the bar (I wasn't there). Rumor was that he was arrested more or less peacefully, but everyone at school kept their distance from him for the rest of the year.

The point is, I would never want to be in a high-stress environment where the people around me could carry concealed weapons, especially in law school. Law students are unstable, emotional, and unreasonable. I don't care how fast you are on the draw. If some jerk two rows behind you freaks out about a section 2-207 question in Sales class, gun or not, you're toast. Best not to let anyone carry to begin with.